Weedless Ned Rig

[fishwizzard]

2 hours ago, cgolf said:

I have agreed with you a decent amount on the Midwest finesse Ned rig thing, but in this case I disagree. I jokingly call the slider spider head and 1/2 Zinkerz a sled rig combining the two since the retrieves share some similarities. 

You have got me interested.  You said you fish them around/under docks, are you skipping them under and then letting them glide down?  I really like the Ned as a skipping lure. It does really put the hurt on the jig->plastic connection on a normal head though, I bet the long shank of the Slider holds them pretty well.  

 

A lot of the rivers by me are in not great shape with long silty flats with little cover or structure, other then the odd rock/boulder.  When wading, they are a fish-scarce pain to wade through, but I have found that by skipping a Ned along the surface upstream and alongside one of the isolated rocks is a great way to summon up either a smallie or a fierce red breast.  I feel like the skipping and then the dead drift back down stream is irresistible. 

[WRB]

16 hours ago, Weedless said:

I saw some Ned rig jig head hooks with a weed guard on but there is nothing better then putting the hook inside the plastic. I found these, but I am concerned with the hook set and if a bass could shake it a little easier....anyone have any experience with these? Is there any other alternatives? 

  

 

https://www.ebay.com/i/232586002629?chn=ps 

 

 

 

Home bent hooks! Those are some of the worst hooks I have seen, avoid those!

All you need to do with exposed jig hook is use a dental rubber band under the jig hook eye and stretched under the hook barb.

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

Not a chance I'd try those things. In a normal fishing situation, if a hook gets bent that badly, I'm throwing it out because it's now much weaker than it was originally. When the hook was a light wire hook to start with and then severely weakened, not a good combination. 

[Cgolf]

5 hours ago, fishwizzard said:

You have got me interested.  You said you fish them around/under docks, are you skipping them under and then letting them glide down?  I really like the Ned as a skipping lure. It does really put the hurt on the jig->plastic connection on a normal head though, I bet the long shank of the Slider holds them pretty well.  

 

A lot of the rivers by me are in not great shape with long silty flats with little cover or structure, other then the odd rock/boulder.  When wading, they are a fish-scarce pain to wade through, but I have found that by skipping a Ned along the surface upstream and alongside one of the isolated rocks is a great way to summon up either a smallie or a fierce red breast.  I feel like the skipping and then the dead drift back down stream is irresistible. 

I generally let them glide down, as the front of my boat doesn't really allow me to do a low skip cast. I generally pick at the edges and just a bit under the edges on the docks. If you can skip them under there it would work great. I just started doing it because I like to throw a style of lures in places others don't, thinking it will get me more bites. 

 

I have also fished them around other vertical cover like reeds by casting them, letting them sink, generally to the bottom, and then starting my retrieve. Here I use the gopher head, but may have to use a heavier head if the wind kicks up to keep the bait on target and not getting blown off the cover. I do start with a lighter head when I can. 

 

I love the traditional Ned rig on the river, it really shines there, I just never let it be on slack line after deep hooking a fish once fishing that way. 

[Oregon Native]

My buddy and I make these for the TRD's and other small baits.  Not a fan of the #2 hooks and such so pour these on 1/0 black nickle mustads.  32760 I believe.  Have worked really well...Only use a couple...four on bigger heads of fiber jig weedguards.

Tight Lines

[Arlo Smithereen]

18 hours ago, cgolf said:

No I like the 3/0 hooks, but a Ned rig purist will say that the hook is to large to meet the definition of a Ned rig. I am very careful now When I discuss this rigging to not call it a Ned rig, or someone else will for me;)

A Ned rig purist.....now that's some funny stuff right there. 

[Weedless]

8 hours ago, WRB said:

All you need to do with exposed jig hook is use a dental rubber band under the jig hook eye and stretched under the hook barb.

My good ol Banjo Minnow (VHS era) introduced me to the rubber band trick! The gum band worked ok, but they dry rotted quickly.

 

p.s. The ol Banjo was a pond killer!  "SPASTIC-ACTION!!!"

[Iluvsmallies]

What do you guys think about this?

[fishwizzard]

How did you get the coil keeper into the trd? Heat?

 

 

[JustJames]

8 hours ago, Iluvsmallies said:

What do you guys think about this?

Look good but if you change the weight to foot ball swinging jig, you might get more action when drag.

[Weedless]

Will that stand up? I feel like since it is swinging, the bullet weight will lay on its side and the TRD will follow....also, I think another effective characteristic of the NED is the flat jig head will tend to slide on its own with the current, not sure if that bullet weight will do that. However, that rig might work even better!! Let us know.

[Iluvsmallies]

I was thinking about pegging it down the line a little bit... I will just have to test it

12 hours ago, fishwizzard said:

How did you get the coil keeper into the trd? Heat?

 

 

I heated it just a little

[d-camarena]

Have you guys tried the owner ultrahead finesse ball head hooks? Thats mostly what i use now. I really recommend them and ther come in a size 1 that is perfect for the trd or 3 inch senkos. 

[JustJames]

I just ordered this one to try out. I plan to switch the hook to #1 Roboworm rebarb hook to make it weedless.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Freedom_Tackle_Zodiac_Ultra_Light_Hybrid_Jig_2pk/descpage-FREEZUL.html

[tander]

I used these for the past 2 years, although not completely weedless, they work pretty well.

 

[contium]

On 2/1/2018 at 10:18 AM, fishwizzard said:

The Moral hooks are a good quality example of the new-ish MWF mold, but I still mantain that the hooks are too big and heavy (in weight) to be "ideal".

 

I thought I had one around for reference, but I guess I have used up the ones that I bought to try.  In anycase, below are some examples of assorted Ned heads;

 

From top to bottom they are;

1. Zman Head, 1/15oz, the new style.  IIRC it is a #1 hook.  It weighs in at .091oz

2. Zman Head, 1/15oz, the old style.  IIRC it is a #1 hook.  It weighs in at .072oz

3. Zman Head, 1/20oz, the old style. IIRC it is a #1 hook. It weighs in at .059oz

4. Gopher Head, 1/16oz, #2 hook.  It weighs in at .053oz.

5. eBay Head, 1/16oz, from the MWF Mold, #4 hook.  It weighs in at .064oz.

 

If we are to take the old Gopher heads as the "gold standard", then the old style Zman in 1/20 is the closest in size and weight.  I wish I had a Morel Head (amazing name btw) to weigh, but my memory is that they are almost 1/8oz, so around .09-.125oz.  I strongly feel that if you are fishing the Ned with the standard retrieves you are best served with as light a head with as small a hook as you can get away with.  I use the "crank crank glide" retrieve maybe 90% of the time and the heavier heads will stop and fall instead of keeping forward momentum and gliding to the bottom like they will with the lighter heads.

 

At the end of the day it might be angels dancing on the head of a pin, but I like to get a little fussy about things. 

 

 

What color is the top bait?

[mattkenzer]

On 2/2/2018 at 2:17 AM, WRB said:

Home bent hooks! Those are some of the worst hooks I have seen, avoid those!

All you need to do with exposed jig hook is use a dental rubber band under the jig hook eye and stretched under the hook barb.

Tom

Ok Tom ..... Rubber Band? This i have never seen or tried .... you know us Canadians are many years behind.

Google search it is.

[WRB]

55 minutes ago, mattkenzer said:

Ok Tom ..... Rubber Band? This i have never seen or tried .... you know us Canadians are many years behind.

Google search it is.

This dates back into the 70's using ball and dart head jigs with exposed hooks.

The rubber bands are denture bands that come a verity of colotr and sizes.

Tom

[Team9nine]

Not the greatest video, but just one example, as there are a couple ways to hook the band up:

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yp-s_TLDkDw

[fishwizzard]

2 hours ago, contium said:

What color is the top bait?

It's a newer one called "Drew's Craw".

 

I have not even fished it yet, but it is going to replace The Deal/Mudminnow as my "Natural" color.  I cannot resist chartreuse/copper flake.  

 

Z-Man and Roboworm are neck and neck with colors that make me buy them.   

[mattkenzer]

Thank you for the explanation Tom.

Thank you for the video Team9nine.

 

I have a couple techniques that may just get this modification.

[moguy1973]

Personally I've tried to Texas rig a Ned to keep it more snagless but it seems that burying the hook into the plastic really kills its action in the water.  It loses it's wiggle that it has when rigged on a smaller lightweight hook.  So i go back to rigging the standard way.  I don't really lose many Ned rigs to snags, and if I do get snagged on a log or tree the hooks bend out pretty easily and I can usually get it back.

[RyanS69]

I am looking for just the hook here.  I'd like to make my own but am having a hell if a time finding them anywhere.  Anyone able to guide me in the right direction?

[Darren.]

57 minutes ago, RyanS69 said:

I am looking for just the hook here.  I'd like to make my own but am having a hell if a time finding them anywhere.  Anyone able to guide me in the right direction?

Welcome aboard!

 

Which hook do you mean, considering there are several pictured

above?

[CrankFate]

I fish it weedless. Sometimes there’s no choice. Or I’ll T-Rig a weedless Ned style worm on a smaller worm hook. I switched to weedless ned a lot because my hooks can get destroyed in the rocks sometimes.